Dragon Ball Manga: Viz Standard VS Viz BIG?

[BobZ]

I've been wanting to get my hands on all the DragonBall volumes for way too long and now when I finally have the chance to do that I'm wondering what exactly to get. I've stumbled across the sad fact that both versions are actually censored by Viz to a certain amount. I saw a thread here showing some differences and I was wondering which edition would be best to get, in your opinion? I would be very thankful if people who own both versions elaborate on this.

[Greenman]

Was this the thread you saw? http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopi ... =7&t=11271

I previously owned almost all of the Viz tankoubon and I'm currently buying the VizBigs as they come out. Between the Viz tankoubon currently in print and the VizBigs, the VizBigs are the obvious winner. Some color pages, higher quality paper and cheaper too.

You could probably track down some of the older Viz volumes secondhand, but I'm not sure the lighter editing of those would outweigh the pros of the VizBigs.

[BobZ]

I think that settles it then. As soon as I get paid these days I'm gonna start ordering the BIG ones.
It's about time I catch up on all the manga goodness the way it was *quite* meant to be.
Thank you for the quick reply.

[rereboy]

I was the one who wrote that review Greenman linked to, and as you can probably guess, in my opinion, the VizBigs are superior in almost in every way.

There are only two things in which the regular volumes might be better. The cover art (since the cover art in the Vizbigs is kind of dull) and lighter censorship in some editions (although others have even harder censorship than the Vizbigs).

In everything else the Vizbigs are superior as you can see in the review.

Even if a full Kanzenban release was available, the Vizbigs would still have a place in the market, since they would still be much cheaper than any Kanzenban release, they would still have a large frame like the Kanzenban, they would still have high quality paper (although it might not be as good as the Kanzenban one would), and it would still have color pages (although not all the color pages that the Kanzenban has).

Basically, if the Kanzenban was released, it would be the superior product, but it would cost a lot more than the Vizbigs (which costs less than the regular release), which already have some or most of the advantages of the Kanzenban release.

(I didn`t refer the special ending of the Kanzenban because it is unknown if the Vizbigs will have that ending or not)

Personally, I have all the DB and DBZ Vizbigs volumes that have already been released, and I`m very satisfied .
(There are only 4 DBZ Vizbigs volumes left to be released for all the Dragon Ball manga to be available in the Vizbig format).

[LilKokuLink]

they would still have high quality paper (although it might not be as good as the Kanzenban one would).

You mean to say the quality actually gets better? I really can't imagine that - the Kanzenban must be crazy stuff.
You should listen to rereboy, he definately knows his stuff - he inspired me to buy the VizBigs myself and I am bloody glad I did because they are quite frankly amazing.

Although, it gets a bit of a pain to read through it because they're so 'big', as in holding it with constant force. Though that's only because I'm lazy and I like to read lying down, so its hard to lie down in bed and read it. However, it's all part of the dedication .

I may have to sacrifice a few volumes to hire someone to hold it for me while I read.

[rereboy]

Well, I read somewhere, probably on this forum, that the Kanzenban have a kind of high quality paper unlike anything used in the US that is amazing. So they might be even better than the Vizbigs which are already awesome (in my opinion).

I don`t possess any Kanzenban volume myself so I can`t really compare the two.

But there is nothing to suggest that an English Kanzenban would use that kind of paper since that paper isn`t what US releases usually use. They would probably use the same paper that the Vizbigs have or almost identical.

The size and weight of the Vizbigs don`t really affect me while reading (if anything, I like them more because of it), but I understand how that can be an issue while reading.

[BobZ]

rareboy, thank you so much for the detailed post! Now I definitely know what to do.

It's a darn shame they edit them though... what harm would it be to release them the way they were originally intended by the author himself. I mean, c'mon - some nudity here and there, what's the big deal?

Anyways, censorship is too screwed up for me to understand, so it's best we just drop the subject and be happy with what we have.

[rereboy]

rareboy, thank you so much for the detailed post! Now I definitely know what to do.

It's a darn shame they edit them though... what harm would it be to release them the way they were originally intended by the author himself. I mean, c'mon - some nudity here and there, what's the big deal?

Anyways, censorship is too screwed up for me to understand, so it's best we just drop the subject and be happy with what we have.

Definitely.

I also don`t understand censorship, but in the Vizbigs` case its minor enough to ignore it.

[Bussani]

For the record, unless you got a particularly bad, old copy of the Viz manga like these...



...you probably won't even notice a lot of the "censorship". There isn't that much in Dragon Ball to cut out. I don't think the violence is ever censored, and most of the nudity is only in the early chapters, so yeah. It's not as bad or as distracting as you might be thinking--unless we're talking about those old ones above, which actually break the jokes with their blatant changes.

Goku: "Hey, you're a girl, aren't you?" *No foot poke.*
Chichi: *Screams and pushes him off Kinto'un.*

I'm exaggerating a bit there, but her reaction made no sense.

Even the next editions at their worst probably weren't that bad.

[Big Momma]

For the record, unless you got a particularly bad, old copy of the Viz manga like these...



...you probably won't even notice a lot of the "censorship". There isn't that much in Dragon Ball to cut out. I don't think the violence is ever censored, and most of the nudity is only in the early chapters, so yeah. It's not as bad or as distracting as you might be thinking--unless we're talking about those old ones above, which actually break the jokes with their blatant changes.

Goku: "Hey, you're a girl, aren't you?" *No foot poke.*
Chichi: *Screams and pushes him off Kinto'un.*

I'm exaggerating a bit there, but her reaction made no sense.

Even the next editions at their worst probably weren't that bad.

Do you mind doing some scans? When you have time?

[Bussani]

Do you mind doing some scans? When you have time?

I don't mind, but my lack of a scanner will probably pose a problem. I'll see what I can manage.

[rereboy]

Btw, I bought yesterday DBZ Vizbig 6 from bookdepository. It should be arriving in a few work days.

[Greenman]

Btw, I bought yesterday DBZ Vizbig 6 from bookdepository. It should be arriving in a few work days.

Awesome. I wonder if bookstores have volume six yet? I noticed Amazon has it in stock.

[rereboy]

Btw, I bought yesterday DBZ Vizbig 6 from bookdepository. It should be arriving in a few work days.

Awesome. I wonder if bookstores have volume six yet? I noticed Amazon has it in stock.

Bookstores will probably only have it on the release date (9 of March). Websites like amazon and bookdepository (etc) sometimes put stuff available a few days earlier. This is the case.

On a side note, DBZ Vizbig volume 7 is still listed with the release date of 20 of April, so, if this holds, we will get that volume next month, which would be great.

[BobZ]

Hey, I'm also going to order my first Dragonball VizbBig from the Bookdepository. Sweet. Can't wait to get paid tomorrow... *drools*

[Sebastian (SB)]

I have all of the Viz Tankoubons with the "Black Cat" logo, so most of the stuff is uncensored prior the Cell arc material. I've had a hand with the Viz Bigs, and for what they're worth, it's a nice product. The quantity of the material it covers, the high quality prints, and the price you pay for it are nice, but it makes me wonder why Viz just didn't use the Kanzenban covers. After all, this seems like their equivalent for the Kanzenban releases in Japan. Like others have said, since it's improbable to find the original, uncensored releases under the SJ Line for a good price, the Viz Bigs are the next best thing.

[vertigovirgo]

Btw, I bought yesterday DBZ Vizbig 6 from bookdepository. It should be arriving in a few work days.

Awesome. I wonder if bookstores have volume six yet? I noticed Amazon has it in stock.

Bookstores will probably only have it on the release date (9 of March). Websites like amazon and bookdepository (etc) sometimes put stuff available a few days earlier. This is the case.

Seriously?? I preordered my copy last week, will this mean that they'll ship it really soon?? I seriously can't wait x_x

[Super Sonic]

For the record, unless you got a particularly bad, old copy of the Viz manga like these...



...you probably won't even notice a lot of the "censorship". There isn't that much in Dragon Ball to cut out. I don't think the violence is ever censored, and most of the nudity is only in the early chapters, so yeah. It's not as bad or as distracting as you might be thinking--unless we're talking about those old ones above, which actually break the jokes with their blatant changes.

Goku: "Hey, you're a girl, aren't you?" *No foot poke.*
Chichi: *Screams and pushes him off Kinto'un.*

I'm exaggerating a bit there, but her reaction made no sense.

Even the next editions at their worst probably weren't that bad.

It's only censored in those first 3 volumes. And if you have a version with that 13 up notice, it's uncensored.

[Bussani]

It's only censored in those first 3 volumes. And if you have a version with that 13 up notice, it's uncensored.

That's kinda true. I don't know if I'd say they're totally uncensored though, since we sometimes find the oddest little edits. However, there isn't really much to censor in 3-6, so you're probably right.

[rereboy]

Seriously?? I preordered my copy last week, will this mean that they'll ship it really soon?? I seriously can't wait x_x

Well, it depends. But usually, by the release date, I already have it or I`m about to get it.

Also, I never pre-order stuff. Many times, the pre-order costs more than the actual order. For example, this DBZ Vizbig Vol. 6 had a price of 15€ on the pre-order, and when it became available to order, it had (and still has) a price of 11.55€. I think some websites only charge the lowest price that they have to offer, but some don`t, and I much prefer to check the site regularly, see when its available, and then order it (usually when its brand new, it even has a discount).

EDIT: Ups, actually, DBZ Vizbig Vol. 6 doesn`t have a price of 11.55€ on bookdepository anymore. It is listed at 13.36€ now. The 11.55€ price was with the discount I mentioned, because it was brand new at the time. But its still cheaper than the preorder price.